A review by astridrv
Severance by Ling Ma

A fast, rather smart read that offers a bleak, at times funny, contemplation of capitalism and alienation, whether through work, sickness, or immigration. I found it a compelling take on pandemic & post-apocalyptic themes, succeeding as Station Eleven did in examining that type of setting from a different lense. Some paragraphs about memory and childhood hit me right in the feels, and the general comment about the deeply alienating nature of late stage capitalism is well done.

I found the description of the fevered extremely jarring, since everyone's reaction to them is seeped in ableism, and I'm still thinking about this book as I progress through the podcast series from Nevada Humanities about its contents: https://www.nevadahumanities.org/severance-radio 

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